A variety of heat-treating methods are used to treat symptoms such as stiffness, muscle pain, cold hands and feet, lumbago, rheumatism and neuralgia (among others). Some known heat-treating methods include direct application of heat to the body using items such as a towel, jelly and/or paste. One concern with such heat-treating methods relates to their ability to apply heat for extended periods of time.
Another heat-treating method utilizes a heat patch to apply heat to an injured portion of a body. Many heat patches generate heat internally, such as via an exothermic chemical reaction, to raise the temperature of the heat patch. The temperature of the heat patch must be limited because applying too much heat to the body causes discomfort or burning. The level of heat that may be safely applied by heat patches is typically insufficient to provide adequate therapy to deeper muscles or joints within the body.
Another treatment method places a reflector on a body to reflect the infrared energy which is emitted from the body back into the body. Infrared energy penetrates deeply into the tissues of the body to provide physiological benefits that are believed to promote patient healing and increase patient comfort. One concern with using reflectors is that they typically do not reflect enough infrared energy to provide optimal therapy, especially when the ambient temperature near the body is low.
Accordingly, there is a need for a heat patch that is capable of providing therapy to deeper areas of the body without burning the skin surface. The heat patch should also be able to apply heat to an injured area of the body for extended periods of time. There is also a need for a heat patch that can be regulated at a temperature which is significantly greater than typical ambient temperature.